Forget about the luck of the Irish, and focus on their quickness. 14 minutes into the game, it was 36-0 Sheldon, and all over but the halftime show.

Roseburg should have known they were in trouble when Batman and Robin appeared on the Sheldon sideline, but rather than rely on those two superheroes (who were on hand to help the band with the theme of their show), The Irish turned loose their own superheroes, Junior running back Zach Todd, and his youthful sidekick, sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnson.

The Irish took 4 minutes to complete their opening drive, capped by Todd’s 5 yard run. The Indian’s first possession went nowhere, and neither did their punt. Tyler Martell blocked the punt, picked it up, and scored to put Sheldon up 14-0 5 minutes and 10 seconds into the game.

The next Indian possession was also a disaster, ending quickly on Andrew Agerter’s interception. Todd took it the last 3 yards for the 21-0 lead. Another Roseburg 1-2-3 punt led to Johnson’s keeper from midfield after a fake to Todd, and a 28-0 lead with still 2:12 left in the first quarter.

Jordan Johnson escapes Collin Green.

The Indians narrowly averted a disaster on a lateral that was headed for the house in the Irish’s hands at the start of the second quarter, but it was ruled a forward pass by inches. No matter, Sheldon forced a punt. Which pinned them at their 13 less than 2 minutes into the quarter.

But only briefly. Todd tore thru the Indians for an 87 yard touchdown. A 2 point conversion put the game away, with 10 minutes to go until halftime.

Sheldon welcomes some other Superheroes.

Any hope of an Indian comeback inspired by an inspiring halftime speech by Coach Thurman Bell was shortlived too. After an initial first down, the Irish shut the Indians down again, forcing a punt.

Which rolled to the 1 yard line. Unphased, Todd tore thru the Indians again, taking it most of the way to the Indian 20 on a big run. Cameron Abeene came on and capped the 99 yard drive with a 3 yard run that built a 42-0 lead with 6:21 still to go in the third quarter.

Roseburg can't get a lock on Zach Todd as he is a blur thru the haze.

Roseburg finally responded with an 84 yard drive that culminated with Josh Davis’ 19 yard pass from Jake Johnson, but all that was accomplished was to avert a shutout.

The only thing that disappointed the Sheldon crowd was when the hoped for return of alums Alex Brink and Chris Baltzer didn’t materialize. The two ex-Sheldon players, now with the Washington State Cougars, are in town for the Cougars date with the Ducks on Saturday, but team meetings kept them tied up until 9 P.M. Long after Todd and Johnson had put an end to any excitement about the game.

The Irish were quicker across the lineup than the Indians, making anything that the Indians did that involved a stoppage or hesitation a failure.

Johnson gave some of the credit for that fact to a knee injury he suffered last basketball season. “I had to work hard to rehab (the knee), and got faster as a result.” Johnson also credited the offensive line with making it easy for he and Todd to run, noting “Roseburg is a good team, not a bad team. The (Sheldon) line just played awesome!” Johnson also saw the blocked punt as the “Momentum changer.”

Todd also credited the Sheldon line, saying “It seemed like every run worked. The line “had” them up front.” Still, a 36 point start in 14 minutes was more than even Todd could have expected. But he observed “We capitalized on every mistake, and played perfectly in the first quarter.” Todd finished with 178 yards on only 11 carries.

Sheldon Coach Marty Johnson also was pleasantly surprised at the way his team overwhelmed the Indians, observing “The kids were real focused this week. Sometimes when that happens, everything clicks. We have a ton of respect for Roseburg; this was just our time.”

Johnson also reflected on his son’s continuing emergence at quarterback, which many see as surprising for a sophomore. But maybe not for someone who has grown up in the system. “He’s been waiting a long time for this. And he (already) has good control of the team.”

Considering Todd is also only a junior, the Irish’s speedy superheroes might also have good control of the rest of the SouthWest Conference for quite a while.

Roseburg 0 0 7 0 - 7

Sheldon 28 8 6 0 - 42

1^st. qtr.

Sheldon – Zach Todd 5 yd. run (Jake Ficker kick) 7:59

S – Tyler Martell blocked kick recovery (Ficker kick) 6:50

S – Todd 3 yd. run (Ficker kick) 4:51

S – Jordan Johnson 49 yd. run (Ficker kick) 2:12

2^nd. qtr.

S – Todd 87 yd. run (Cameron Abeene run) 11:11

3^rd. qtr.

S – Abeene 3 yd. run (kick wide) 6:21

Roseburg – Josh Davis 19 yd. pass from Jake Johnson 1:32

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